Michael Floyd. (Getty)
Michael Floyd, 27, joined the New England Patriots after he was released by the Arizona Cardinals in December. The fifth-year player out of Notre Dame has played a minor role for New England, due to where he sits on the depth chart and off-the-field trouble. He has the experience and skills to be part of the Patriots’ wide receiver rotation on Sunday in Super Bowl 51, but he was a healthy scratch, meaning he won’t play in the game.
Here are five fast facts about Floyd’s legal troubles, career, family and salary:
1. Floyd Was Arrested for Drunk Driving in December
Floyd began his fifth season with Arizona, who drafted him 13th overall in 2012, in 2016. It ended abruptly when Floyd was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to obey a police officer in December of 2016.
Scottsdale police found Floyd at the wheel of his black SUV, which was sitting at a stoplight and idled through two green lights. Floyd was passed out when officers approached the car.
After Floyd’s release from jail, he was also released by the Cardinals. This incident made Floyd a repeat offender, as he had a DUI arrest in 2011 while he was with Notre Dame that got him suspended.
The decision to release St. Paul, Minnesota native Floyd after three consecutive productive seasons was made easier by the fact that Floyd is in the last year of his current contract, set to become a free agent after this current season. Whether or not will he will get a new contract from an NFL team is questionable due to his off-the-field record.
2. Floyd Has Made Millions Playing Football
Even if teams hesitate to give him a new contract for the 2017-18 season and beyond, Floyd has already made more money in five seasons than some people make in a lifetime.
Floyd has made nearly $18 million in his NFL career so far, giving him an average annual salary of around $3.6 million.
3. Floyd Has Dated His High School Sweetheart for Years
Floyd has been romantically linked to Maddy Thomas, who grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and attended Cretin-Derham High School with Floyd.
Thomas went on to study at Michigan State when Floyd went to Notre Dame, and studied abroad during her years as a Spartan. The couple have since bought a home together in Scottsdale, Arizona.
4. Floyd Has Faced Falcons Running Back Devonta Freeman in a Bowl Before
Sunday will be the second time that Floyd has been on the opposite sideline from Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman in a game with the word “bowl” in its name.
In Floyd’s senior season at Notre Dame of 2011-12, the Fighting Irish faced the Florida State Seminoles in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Freeman was a freshman with Florida State at the time.
Freeman carried 13 times for 48 yards and had two catches for 12 yards in the game. Floyd had five catches for 41 yards and a touchdown, on top of returning two punts for 44 yards. Freeman’s team won the game 18-14.
Freeman isn’t the only connection back to his history of bowl games at Notre Dame, however. Freeman also faced Atlanta kicker Matt Bosher in the 2010 Sun Bowl, when Bosher was the kicker for the Miami Hurricanes.
5. Floyd Won’t Play in the Super Bowl, But He Wants to Be Back with New England Either Way
On Thursday, Floyd gave an interview to Mike Reiss of ESPN in which he said that his current preference is to be back with the Patriots next season.
The sentiment seems to be mutual to some extent, as New England coaches have praised Floyd to the media. There is room to question the Patriots’ desire to bring Floyd back, however, based on his playing time since he got to New England.
Obviously Floyd needed time to learn the offense and become comfortable with quarterback Tom Brady, which is part of the reason why Floyd has been used sparingly. He appears to be pretty low on the depth chart, however, as he was held off the active roster for the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers despite being healthy. The Patriots got wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell back from a knee injury in time for the game, and decided to only carry four receivers into the contest, making Floyd the odd man out. That’s the same situation for the Super Bowl today.
Despite the fact that Floyd isn’t playing today, he has the talent necessary to help an NFL team next season and perhaps beyond. He has had three consecutive 800+ yard receiving seasons. The big question mark is whether he can avoid trouble off the field, and that will likely play a part in his next NFL contract, should he get one.
